MMA Gives Back

In these mainstream days of MMA, much of what a fan reads is
negative stories and news.

This fighter peed hot. That fighter was charged with a crime. The
growth of the sport has made any breaking news story more visible
than ever.

With that said, on Friday I had the opportunity to attend a special
event that differs greatly from the norm. PureCombat is hosting a
show in Clovis, Calif., on Saturday, so with the fighters in town
the organization took its athletes and teams to nearby Fresno
Children’s Hospital to give back to the community.

I decided to hitch along to see the fighters interact with children
that were admitted for care. As we arrived, we were immediately
ushered into an area that was filled with video games and teenage
patients that were into a hardcore showdown of DJ Hero. At first
the kids were a bit shy, but quickly came around as if they had
been friends for years. Billy
Evangelista jumped in on drums and Brandon
Cash rocked out on vocals with a guitar-playing youth to “Kung
Fu Fighting.”

Following the jam session, the fighters were split into groups to
go room-to-room to offer encouragement to those in need. I quickly
noticed they were very good at communicating with the patients and
putting smiles on their faces. Martin
Sandoval, Raul
Sandoval, and Evangelista interacted with Spanish-speaking
children.

A child asked the group in Spanish who was the best fighter in the
room, and Evangelista was quick to raise his hand. He laughed
loudly when I sold him out to the other fighters, and they all gave
him a hard time about it.

The group gathered around for a photo with a child, and he reacted
with an ear-to-ear smile and then rushed to show his mother all the
autographed pictures he had just received.